officiate

verb

of·​fi·​ci·​ate ə-ˈfi-shē-ˌāt 

officiated; officiating

intransitive verb

1

: to perform a ceremony, function, or duty

officiate at a wedding

2

: to act in an official capacity : act as an official (as at a sports contest)

transitive verb

1

: to carry out (an official duty or function)

2

: to serve as a leader or celebrant of (a ceremony)

3

: to administer the rules of (a game or sport) especially as a referee or umpire

officiation

ə-ˌfi-shē-ˈā-shən 

noun

Examples of officiate in a Sentence

The bishop officiated the memorial Mass.

Two referees officiated the hockey game.

Recent Examples on the Web

Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve was suspended for saying there needed to be a change in officiating at the league level, and two other coaches were fined for supporting her. —Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 30 Sep. 2025

And in June, Matt got married to Yena Kang — and his grandfather officiated the wedding. —Wendy Grossman Kantor, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2025

The Philadelphia Eagles have been under the microspore for weeks because of the tush push and how the play was being officiated during games. —Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 28 Sep. 2025

Now, no one believes officiating is good at any level in any sport, particularly when there is a rooting interest involved. —Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 27 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin officiātus, past participle of officiāre "to perform a function, perform priestly duties," going back to Late Latin officiārī "to perform a function," derivative of Latin officium "duty, office"

First Known Use

1623, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Rhymes for officiate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

Kids Definition

officiate

verb

of·​fi·​ci·​ate ə-ˈfish-ē-ˌāt 

officiated; officiating

1

: to perform a ceremony

officiate at a wedding

2

: to act as an officer

officiated at the annual meeting

3

: to enforce the rules of (a game or sport)

officiate a soccer match